新风尚视听说4Unit 3 Focus.ppt

Unit 3 Focus Background information about Obama Barack Hussein Obama II?( i/b??rɑ?k?hu??se?n?o??bɑ?m?/; born August 4, 1961) is the?44th?and?current?President of the United States, and the?first?African American?to hold the office. Born in?Honolulu, Hawaii, Obama is a graduate of?Columbia University?and?Harvard Law School, where he served as president of the?Harvard Law Review. He was a?community organizer?in Chicago before earning his?law degree. He worked as a?civil rights?attorney and taught?constitutional law?at the?University of Chicago Law School?from 1992 to 2004. He?served three terms representing the 13th District in the?Illinois Senate?from 1997 to 2004,?running unsuccessfully?for the?United States House of Representatives?in 2000. In 2004, Obama received national attention during his?campaign to represent Illinois?in the?United States Senate with his victory in the March?Democratic Party?primary, his?keynote address?at the?Democratic National Convention in July, and his election to the Senate in November. He began his presidential campaign in 2007 and, after?a close primary campaign?against?Hillary Rodham Clinton?in 2008, he won sufficient delegates in the?Democratic Party primaries?to receive the presidential nomination. He then defeated?Republican?nominee?John McCain?in the?general election, and was?inaugurated as president?on January 20, 2009. Nine months after his election, Obama was named the?2009 Nobel Peace Prize?laureate. Barack Obama’s Inaugural Address My fellow citizens:I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathe